Police around 4 p.m. evacuated a portion of the motel after eyewitnesses said a man was threatening patrons with a firearm. Officers armed with rifles responded to the incident at the Regency Inn at 1215 W. St. South and encountered Whitfield, at which point the suspect allegedly fled back into a motel room.

A few hours later, the standoff ended when a law enforcement officer shocked Whitfield with a Taser stun gun and handcuffed him. The woman he was with was not arrested. Police never found a gun from the incident, authorities said.